


The hardest thing to say

by errantknightess



Category: D.Gray-man
Genre: Fluff, Foreign Language, Humor, M/M, Tongue Twisters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-14
Updated: 2016-04-14
Packaged: 2018-06-02 05:25:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6552790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/errantknightess/pseuds/errantknightess
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Foreign languages are fun and useful, especially when your crush doesn't speak them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The hardest thing to say

**Author's Note:**

> (Forgot to post it here when I put it on tumblr =.=)

Allen heard Lavi long before he saw him; the familiar hasty footsteps thundered down the corridor, and a moment later there was a firm arm around his shoulders and an excited voice in his ear.

“There you are! I’ve been looking all over for you!” Lavi easily fell into step, pulling him closer with no regard for personal space. “I wanted to tell you something.”

“Can’t it wait?” Allen sighed. “I was just going for dinner.” He gently nudged Lavi in the side, but the hold never loosened.

“I’ll be quick.” With a focused frown, Lavi cleared his throat and took a deep breath. “Okay, so… _Chrząszcz brzmi w trzcinie_.” He beamed a self-satisfied grin, boring into Allen with an expectant look.

Allen blinked.

“What was that?” By the sound alone, he would bet on some terrible throat infection, but with Lavi it never hurt to ask.

“A tongue twister,” Lavi explained, reaching for the rolled-up newspaper sticking out of his back pocket. “I found it in here, there’s a whole section with them.” He tapped his finger at the tiny print in the corner of the page. “Come on, say it with me!”

Allen glanced down at the paper. It looked obviously foreign. The letters were arranged in a completely ridiculous order, bypassing vowels in places that could really use some, in his opinion; most of them had weird bits sticking out here and there like dead insects dried up on the page.

“Khh-shawn…tsh…” he hazarded, trying more or less to repeat the impossible rustling sound that Lavi had made earlier. “You’re pulling my leg. Are those even real words?”

“Sure they are,” Lavi snorted with amusement, which didn’t lend much credibility to his claim. “Though these phrases don’t really make much sense. They’re just supposed to be hard to pronounce. People make them up for fun.”

“So there are people who think it’s funny that they can’t handle their own mother tongue?” Allen huffed. “What language is this, anyway?”

“Polish. You don’t speak it, do you?”

“Not one bit.” Allen shook his head. “That’s the first time I hear someone speak it, too.”

“Well, don’t take what you hear from me for granted. I’m probably butchering it,” Lavi admitted with a laugh. “It’s been a while since I first picked it up. I know some basics, but never had much practice. These are a good exercise, though! Check this out: _Król Karol… ukradł królowej Karolinie… korale… koloru… kolarowego_. No, wait. I messed that up.”

“As if anyone could tell.” Allen rolled his eyes. “You sound like you’re retching up a cracker. I have no idea what you just said.”

“Aww, don’t be a spoilsport.” Lavi poked him in the cheek with a playful pout. “Here, try this one, looks easy enough. _Stół z poły_ … _wały_ … Okay, maybe not.”

“Lavi, please. I’m hungry. I’m not going to risk getting my jaw dislocated before I eat something.”

“How about this one? Fff.. tsha–shye soo–shi shoh–sa… soo–hah.”

“Cut it out, you’re spitting on me!”

“Am not!” he protested, but finally obliged. For a moment, they walked in silence, but Lavi wouldn’t be himself if he could keep his mouth shut for long.

“Hey, Allen…” he started, playfully bumping into him. “Just one more.”

“Yes?” Allen slowly turned his head to send him a heavy, tired glance.

“ _Kocham cię_ ,” Lavi said, his smug smile twitching a little.

Allen raised his eyebrows. The unfamiliar phrase caught him off-guard; it was so much different from the previous crackling and coughing – husky, but strangely soft. Was this another stupid word game?

“That… doesn’t sound awfully complicated,” he observed.

“Trust me,” Lavi sighed, “it’s harder than you’d think.”


End file.
